Delaware Gets Past St. Bonaventure

Posted:
Wednesday, November 28, 2012 10:41 PM EST

NEWARK, Del. -- Lauren Carra took control for the University of Delaware women's basketball squad Wednesday night as she posted her first career double-double with 20 points and 13 rebounds in leading the Blue Hens to a come-from-behind 68-58 non-league win over St. Bonaventure at the Bob Carpenter Center.

Jaquetta May added 12 points and Akeema Richards knocked down a season-high 10 points as the Blue Hens (3-2) won their second straight game, rallying from a five-point halftime deficit by taking control early in the second stanza. Delaware improved to 3-1 at home this season while St. Bonaventure, which advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 a year ago, fell to 3-4 with its fourth straight loss.

"I thought that the second half we did a much better job of executing exactly what we needed to do," said Delaware head coach Tina Martin, whose team downed the Bonnies for the second straight year. "St. Bonaventure is a very good basketball team and they have a really good coach. They win a lot of games. They play that grind-it-out style and they try to isolate a lot of players one-on-one and draw a lot of fouls. We told our kids we had to play a smart game defensively and we tightened it up in the second half. We took advantage of what I felt were a lot of mismatches and that helped us in the end. It was just a matter of us continuing to execute. A lot of good things happened for us tonight."

The Bonnies, who shot just 34.6 percent from the field in the second half (9 of 26), got 14 points from CeCe Dixon while Doris Ortega added 13 points and Ashley Zahn contributed 10.

The Hens, who once again played without All-American and national Player of the Year candidate Elena Delle Donne who is battling the effects of Lyme Disease, outscored the Bonnies 43-28 in the second half. Delle Donne, who led the nation in scoring a year ago, has now missed four of Delaware's five games this season.

Richards hit two quick baskets to start the second half for Delaware and Carra knocked down a three-pointer as the Hens tied the game at 32-32 just two minutes into the second stanza. The Hens took their first lead since the opening seconds of the game when Carra hit a free throw for a 33-32 lead and May followed with a layup for a 35-32 UD advantage.

The Bonnie answered the run when Emily Michael knocked down a three-pointer to tie the score at 35-35 with 14:31 left to play. Richards and Carra answered that run with consecutive layups as Delaware regained the lead at 39-35 and never looked back. The Hens built the lead to as many as 13 points and St. Bonaventure never got closer than seven points during the final six minutes of the game.

Delaware enjoyed a big advantage at the foul line where the Blue Hens outscored St. Bonaventure 27-9 and the Blue Hens also held a 42-38 edge in rebounding and committed just eight turnovers.

Delaware junior Kelsey Buchanan added eight points and seven rebounds off the bench while Kayla Miller contributed six points and two assists in a season-high 33 minutes. Danielle Parker also contributed five points and eight rebounds.

"Kelsey Buchanan had a big day for us," added Martin. "I thought she was outstanding for us in the second half. Jaquetta May also had a big game. She was one of those mismatches and we were able to get the ball inside to her. I also can't say enough about Kayla Miller. I put her in to keep things organized and I told her we can't have over 10 turnovers and we met that goal."

Carra, a pre-season All-Colonial Athletic Association selection, hit just 4 of 12 shots from the field but knocked down two three-pointers and was 10 of 15 from the foul line in notching her fourth career 20-point effort. Her 13 rebounds surpassed her previous career-high of nine set vs. Georgetown earlier this season.

"We came out a little slow tonight, but our defense does everything for us, and we feed off that," said Carra, a 5-9 senior guard. "Towards the end of the first half we got our momentum flowing into halftime, so that was big. We are a veteran team at this point, so we understand that we can't panic. We take a step back at this point and realize the mistakes that we're making and just keep pushing on. When Elena steps out, we need all five players to put the ball in the basket."

Delaware will return to action next Wednesday when the Hens travel to Rhode Island for a non-league game Dec. 5 at 7:30 p.m. in Kingston, R.I.